According To Maria Ressa, The Philippines Is Worse Than Any War Zone She's Been In... HUH?!

From CBS here's an interesting line that she said that makes me LMAO:

This is far worse than any war zone that I've been in. In a war zone you know exactly where the threats are coming from. I plan my way in and we plan our way out and you're there for a limited period of time. But today's threats are long standing. There's no end to it. We've been living through three years of this kind of hell.  

Whether or not she's using hyperbole for not - I really have to find it laughable at what she said. We have to consider the REAL picture of what's really happening to her. There were libel charges with Wilfredo Keng along with tax deficits. If she does think she's bullied then shouldn't she avoid publicity because that will invite MORE BULLIES? Instead, she seems to be taking things like an attention whore and going to foreign media because her reputation is ruined? She still considers it an attack on "press freedom" when none of her cases are related to it. Also, with reporters who said they were allegedly threatened with violence - I wonder if they were even paid to say it? Something's not right with the video if you ask me. I have a hunch that they were also threatened with blackmail. In due fairness, Pia Ranada has a rather fair analysis of President Duterte in Japan. Not to mention, some of the fact-checkers at Rappler actually ended up fact-checking Thinking Class of the Philippines concerning the statement that Sarah Elago allegedly said. Though I do still feel the right to be critical about some fact-checkers because some of them are really biased or seem to only do fact-checking when it suits their needs.

Reality check for Ressa. She needs to consider the following reality. Rappler is still OPERATIONAL and the Securities and Exchange Commission did not shut it down in spite of alleged violations. Until now, these violations are still being checked. Rappler is given the chance to pay taxes. It's still able to exercise its freedom of speech. Ressa's arrest for libel was bailable. She was still ABLE to exercise her right for that area. How is that for democracy is dead? Ressa is still able to badmouth and badmouth the Duterte Administration but why she is able to do so? She was able to post bail more than once and the offenses were not related to her dislike for President Duterte. She's not even in jail. She's been released for the nth time.

Rigoberto Tiglao from The Manila Times reveals about what could be some heavy truth about Ressa herself:

Ressa never covered a war zone for the CNN, ABS-CBN and Rappler — unless she insists being in the fiscal’s office to pay the bond for her release after being charged with tax evasion and libel was being in a war zone.

Ressa merely watched the bin Laden’s tapes and other CNN videotapes of its war correspondents doing their jobs. Did she imagine she was CNN’s Nic Robertson, the most famous war correspondent in recent years?

No wonder, it is the same kind of mind that imagines that this country’s streets are littered with corpses because of the government’s war against illegal drugs, its media, as well as opposition persecuted, and that it is worse than a war zone.

Also, let's assume that Ressa herself was truly a war zone correspondent. If that were true then consider that if she really met the late Osama Bin Laden in person. Wouldn't that be a much bigger threat than the current administration? Also, wouldn't the Middle East be a real war zone in contrast to the Philippines? This really comes as no surprise that she praises Jover Laurio. Just think Pignoy Ako Blog also said that the Philippines is now supposedly the "most dangerous place on Earth".

She could consider doing this one. She could or SHOULD arrange an interview with BBC HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur. It would be interesting to see her talk in BBC HARDtalk and try to prove her statements. You can consider Sackur already has interviewed Antonio Trillanes IV and Maria Lourdes Sereno. Speaking of Sereno, I'm amazed at how she hasn't learned her lesson yet. I may have the same religion as Sereno (Christian) but boy am I too ashamed of her! Either way, she should really consider getting a BBC HARDtalk interview next so she can prove her statement right.